


i’ll never guess just right

by wouldratherbe



Series: Now That You’re Here [1]
Category: Glee
Genre: Teen Momisms
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-29
Updated: 2020-04-29
Packaged: 2021-03-02 00:54:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,794
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23916367
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wouldratherbe/pseuds/wouldratherbe
Summary: Quinn looked different.Rachel couldn’t really figure out why. But her hair was pulled back in two french braids, and she was wearing less makeup than she usually did, and… she was smiling. She was genuinely, fully smiling. And it was directed only to the baby held tight against her chest.or: Rachel meets the newest Fabray.
Relationships: Beth Corcoran & Quinn Fabray, Quinn Fabray/Finn Hudson, Rachel Berry & Beth Corcoran, Rachel Berry/Quinn Fabray
Series: Now That You’re Here [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1723921
Comments: 6
Kudos: 93





	i’ll never guess just right

**Author's Note:**

> An outtake from my social media au that you can find on twitter @ quintuplethreat .
> 
> One shot title from ‘paper airplanes’ by canyon city. Series title from ‘light’ by sleeping at last.

Rachel didn’t know what she was waiting for. Almost everyone was here. All of the food was here. Her fathers were talking with Mr. Schue in the kitchen, discussing the plans for next year’s glee club plans, and spring break plans, and the like. Spring break was coming up fast, and everyone wanted to talk about where they were going and what they were doing. Rachel wasn’t going anywhere this year, choosing to spend the time in her ballet studio’s mini-intensive that they offered every year. Jesse St. James had distracted her, and she was _so_ behind on technique training.

The party in front of her, however, was in full swing. She’d actually pulled off a successful post regionals bash, and everyone had come. Or, almost everyone. A couple people were running late. A couple _important_ people who she hadn’t seen in two weeks.

“Berry, do you have any more Pepsi? Mama’s running low,” Santana shouted from across the backyard, smiling as a pair of hands she was obviously familiar with wrapped around her waist.

“Yeah, sure.” Rachel headed inside, Mike trailing behind her. She’d noticed him escaping from the party a few times before, either with a dumb excuse or no excuse at all, and wondered what his deal was. This time, he followed her silently into the kitchen, and grabbed a water bottle and the Pepsi Rachel was holding.

“I can take this to Santana,” he murmured, staring at the front door and grimacing. “See you out there, Rachel. Nice party, by the way.”

“Yeah.” Her fathers and Mr. Schue were still talking away, ignoring the two teenagers, and Rachel turned her head to where Mike had been looking. Nothing looked different. She didn’t know what to do with the unexpected disappointment in her chest, and made her way to the back patio.

It was another fifteen minutes of everyone talking amongst themselves, ignoring Rachel’s plan of discussing summer vocal training. Brittany was talking about going to NASA with Santana for spring break (Nassau, Santana explained), and Kurt was fawning over Matt, as he usually did when Finn wasn’t around. Nothing out of the ordinary.

It wasn’t until Rachel’s dad had come to the back, Mr. Schue right behind him, and Sam right behind _him_ , that Rachel’s heart began to race.

“Sorry we’re late, everybody,” Sam apologized. “Quinn was freaking out, and that made Finn freak out, and.” He trailed off, before shrugging and whipping his hair to the side. “Well, we’re here now.” Rachel caught the grin he aimed towards her, tipping a nonexistent hat, and smiled back, eyes moving past him to where she could see her father, and Finn, and… 

Quinn looked different.

Rachel couldn’t really figure out why. But her hair was pulled back in two french braids, and she was wearing less makeup than she usually did, and… she was smiling. She was genuinely, fully smiling. And it was directed only to the baby held tight against her chest.

“Hey, everybody!” Finn burst, obviously excited to talk to the people he hadn’t seen since his daughter’s birth. “How’s it going?”

Matt, Mike, and Artie all crowded him, patting him on the back and laughing at the burgundy diaper bag on his back. Kurt held back a little, eyes trained on the boy himself, no doubt sizing him up to see if he could seduce him.

The girls stood watching Quinn, with Brittany being the only one brave enough to actually go up to Quinn, laying a reassuring hand at the small of her back as the other lifted the blanket to peek at the baby. Santana was on the other side of her, laughing at something Rachel couldn’t hear, and Mercedes and Tina slowly made their way up to the girl. Rachel was the farthest, watching Quinn thoughtfully. She looked happy. Tired, _exhausted_ , but undeniably happy.

Quinn whispered a hi, making her way around to all of the girls before standing in front of Rachel. “Do you mind if I sit?”

Rachel looked down at the open spot on the love seat, and shook her head. “No, go ahead. In fact, I’ll just stand-”

“You don’t have to do that. She doesn’t take up much space.”

Conversation stuttered back to an open flow as games resumed and parents and teachers went back inside and friends mingled again. Quinn and Rachel were silent, though. They always got along better in silence anyway. A quiet understanding was better than no understanding at all.

“You have a really nice home,” Quinn said, hazel eyes locking on brown ones. Why she was breaking the silence, Rachel didn’t know. This was uncharted ground. “Your room is very… you.”

“You were in my room?” Rachel stammered, eyes wide.

“Don’t worry, it was clean. Ellison was acting like she needed to be fed, so your dad showed me to your room, in case I wasn’t… yeah. So I was in there for, like, two minutes. It was cute.”

Rachel grimaced, making a mental note to list everything embarrassing Quinn could use against her. The stuffed animals, the camcorder, the closet filled with argyle and plaid, the posters on the wall. A million and one things. Goodness. 

She was so invested in her list that the squeak made her jump, looking around to find the source. She didn’t even think of oiling the furniture, but maybe she should’ve? Rachel hadn’t ever hosted a party in her backyard on her own, and her fathers hadn’t mentioned it, but maybe-

Her train of thought was cut off by Quinn shushing her. Or. Not her, but the baby. Her baby. _Ellison_ , Rachel’s brain supplied.

“Don’t be like that,” Quinn pleaded, although there was a small smile on her face as she watched the newborn.

Rachel hadn’t seen her yet. She’d seen half of a photo when Sam had passed around his phone the day after regionals, showing off his twin’s baby. Apparently, she liked Quinn to speak and sing to her, and liked Finn to hold her, and hated bath time but loved bedtime. She was named after Quinn’s paternal grandmother and Finn’s dad’s favorite song. Ellison Beth Fabray-Hudson. Rachel knew tons about her. But she had no clue what the baby looked like, aside from the shock of brown hair. That didn’t stop her from recognizing the tiny face, surprisingly.

Quinn pulled the blanket back and laid the newborn on her thighs. She blinked heavily, mouth turning into a grimace before sticking out a tiny pink tongue. Her eyes were grey, and her hair was mostly dark, with wispy blonde curls at the front. But aside from the obvious hair color factor, this baby was all Quinn. From the ears that stuck out a little bit, to the raised brow that she was giving her mother. Quinn had created a brunette miniature of herself. And considering Rachel didn’t believe that the girl was actually, truly blonde, it might as well have been a full clone.

Quinn laughed, her pinky poking at the tongue, as she swayed her legs. “Come on, don’t give Rachel that. What did she do to you?”

As if on cue, the baby looked to Rachel, and the brunette smiled, resisting the urge to stick her hand out. “Hi, Ellison. It’s nice to finally meet you.”

Quinn giggled once more, and Rachel froze, unused to the sound when it wasn’t directed at her misery.

They sat in silence, watching the rambunctious group around them, before Quinn spoke up, nodding to her boyfriend. “He’s been so excited for this, you know. I think he really missed the guys. Mike especially.”

Rachel nodded. The boys had been friends longer than she even knew them. It made sense. “Mike was really excited about seeing him, too. We’ve missed him. Both of you, really.”

“Well, we’ve missed you guys, too. This little lady is not quite as fun to sing with.”

Rachel snorted, eyes falling back to the baby who was trying to fit her mother’s finger into her mouth. “No? I thought she’d at least be at Streisand’s level by now.”

Quinn smiled at that. “No, she hates when the boys sing. She only tolerates me, but I think that’s just because I sang all the time when I was pregnant.”

“I heard that babies get smarter when they listen to classical music. They recognize it, or something. So maybe if you guys only sing Journey 24/7, she’ll warm up to it.”

Quinn belly-laughed, leaning into Rachel a little bit, and the brunette realized how close they were for the first time. They’d never been this close before. Even when they’d started being… friends, or whatever they were now. “That’s a good idea, Rachel.”

They fell silent again, interrupted only by Ellison’s little cries when she realized she wasn’t going to be able to eat her mother’s hand. Quinn called Finn over, and he reached into the diaper bag, pulling out a white pacifier.

“Hey, Rach,” he smiled, nudging her shoulder. “How you been?”

“Great, Finn. How about you?”

“Amazing. Busy. Occupied by the best girl in the world.” He reached down to tickle the baby’s stomach, getting both Quinn and Ellison’s hands slapping him away in return. The older of the two smiled up at him, and Rachel looked away from the familial moment, slightly uncomfortable. She shouldn’t have still been jealous, but she couldn’t help it, honestly. Not when Quinn was looking at Finn like that… _She_ wanted to be looked at like that.

When she turned back towards Quinn, Finn was across the yard, playing cup pong with Sprite.

“I think she needs a diaper change,” the blonde stated, lifting the baby up and sniffing her pants. Rachel almost laughed as her face twisted. “Do you know where I could…”

Rachel thought about it for a moment, before shrugging. “You can go in my room, if you want. I don’t really mind.”

Quinn nodded, reaching down to grab the diaper bag, before sitting back and situating the baby against her chest protectively. She started to walk away, before stopping, and turning back to Rachel, who had stood up on her own in order to socialize. First rule of hosting a party.

“Hey, Rachel?”

“Yeah?”

“Finn and I… We broke up. When Ellison was born.”

The girls stared at each other, and Rachel blinked twice, processing the information. Quinn and Finn. No longer dating. Broken up. Finn was single. _Quinn_ was single.

Rachel blinked hard, staring at the girl opposite her. She had to say something, now. “I-” Nope. Nothing was coming out.

Quinn stared at her, something akin to hope in her eyes, before nodding and looking at her shoes. “Do with that information what you will. I just thought you should know.”

**Author's Note:**

> #noquick2k20
> 
> Honestly, this is me trying to do a character study for this au. Hope it wasn’t too confusing. Bear with me, people.
> 
> don't forget to leave kudos and comment if you so desire!! xx


End file.
